Blackpool eye Arsenal scalp as Gunners injury problems mount

Blackpool must be eying up back-to-back scalps after learning that Arsenal’s star man against Liverpool on Sunday, Samir Nasri, will be ruled out for a month.

Nasri put in a mature display against Liverpool

Arsenal entertain Blackpool on Saturday following a gruelling encounter at Anfield, while the Premiership new boys managed a stroll against Wigan running out 4-0 winners. Now news of Nasri’s injury is a major blow to Arsenal after he produced a fine performance in midfield against Liverpool. With captain Cesc Fabregas reportedly unlikely to start on Saturday, Nasri’s place will most likely go to Tomas Rosicky.

Nasri is set to undergo a minor knee operation and is due to be missing until the middle of September.

Meanwhile Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has reiterated his fears that the new homegrown rules in the Premiership will all end in tears. Or the courts. Or both. Wenger said more and more players will be able to use the courts to have their contracts terminated if they are unable to play football due to the imposed cap on non-homegrown players.

Premier League sides now have to name a 25-man squad with a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players, leaving managers like Roberto Mancini at Man City with difficult decisions to make regarding the players they select for their squads. The rule has led to the impasse between Stephen Ireland and Man City over the player’s demand for a €2 million pay-off as he is effectively being kicked out of the club.

Wenger gets the hump with the FA

A clause in the rule states that players who have featured in less than 10 per cent of ‘the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the ground of ‘sporting just cause.’ All of which means that if a player isn’t in the 25-man squad, he cannot play football and can therefore not compete in 10% of games and can therefore get out of his contract.

Worryingly the situation could also lead to clubs losing star players tied down to long-term deals.Martin Skrtel today signed a two-year contract extension at Liverpool, however if he fell out of favour he could effectively wait until he wasn’t playing enough games to walk away from his contract. Although the rule also states that the player can only do so in the 15 days after a season has finished.

Wenger said: “If you have not played more than 10 per cent of games, you can get in front of a Fifa committee that then decides how much money you have to pay to buy out your contract. That is a rule. If players are paid for playing and you do not give them the chance to play they can go to court and ask for that money from you because they never had that chance to play. If you are not even in the 25, how can you play?”